Jet engine mounting



June 13, 1967 H. HORNSCHUCH 3,324,657

JET NNNNNNNNNNNN NG HA N/VS HORNSGHUGH QM QTM- INVENIOR ATTORNEY June 13, 1967 H. HORNSCHUCH 3,324,657

JET ENGINE MOUNTING Filed Dec. 22, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HA N/VS HORNSCHUCH I ATTORNEY June 13, 1967 H. HORNSCHUCH 3,324,657

JET ENGINE MOUNTING Filed Dec. 22, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 A'NVENTOR. HA N/VS HORNS CHUCH Qw wtT-vum:

ATTORNEY United States Patent 0 3,324,657 JET ENGINE MOUNTIl G Hanns Hornschuch, Easton, Pa., assignor to Ingersoll- Rand Compan', New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Dec. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 515,560 5 Claims. (Cl. 60-3932) The present invention relates to a power plant using jet engines as gas generators and, more particularly, to a jet engine mounting.

It is known to mount one or more jet engines on the side or sides of a plenum chamber tank so as to discharge hot gas into the plenum chamber tank through the outlet of the jet engines. An arrangement of this type is disclosed in United States Patent No. 3,172,257 granted to H. Hornschuch on Mar. 9, 1965.

In mounting these jet engines difficulties have been encountered in placing them so that there are not undue stresses and strains applied to the base or walls of the jet engine and plenum chamber. Both the jet engines and plenum chamber tank undergo considerable changes of temperature between an operating condition and an idle or shut-down condition. These changes of temperature cause thermal expansion and contraction of parts of the jet engines and plenum chamber. Such thermal changes in size of the jet engines and tank may create undue stresses in both the jet engiens and plenum chamber tank if the jet engines are not supported by a mounting which can allow such thermal changes to occur without the creation of stresses, These stresses are undesirable because they are likely to cause early ageing and failure of parts of the jet engines and plenum chamber tank.

The principal object of this invention is to eliminate or substantially minimize the aforesaid problem.

Other important objects of this inevntion include: to provide a jet engine mounting which allows the jet engine and plenum chamber to remain in proper fitted relationship at all temperatures; to provide a mounting which avoids strain at the juncture of the plenum chamber and the jet engine; to provide a jet engine mounting which allows the jet engine to freely expand and contract without restraint; to provide a mounting to which a jet engine can be easily and quickly attached; and to provide an attaching means for a jet engine which is sufliciently flexible to handle the thermal growth in length of the jet engine between the front and rear supports of the jet engine mounting.

Briefly, the above objects are accomplished by mounting the jet engine by means of a double cantilever structure. One element of the cantilever structure supports the jet engine intermediate its length by two trunnion and a second element of the cantilever structure supports the forward end of the jet engine by a cantilever arm which has at its end remote from the plenum chamber two rods which extend between the end of the cantilever arm and the forward part of the jet engine. The rear end of the jet engine is connected to the manifold inlet by a slip joint allowing the jet engine to grow in length without applying stresses to either the engine or the manifold. The attachment of the rods to the cantilever arm and the forward part of the jet engine is sutficiently flexible to handle the growth in length of the jet engine due to thermal expansion between the front and rear supports of the jet engine.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a power plant utilizing the jet engine mounting means of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the jet engine mounting means;

FIG. 3 is an outboard end view of the jet engine mounting means taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary end view of the outboard end of the mounting means;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 5-5 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view showing the trunnion interconnection between the engine and the mounting means; and

FIG. 7 is a section taken on the line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 includes a plenum chamber 1 adapted to receive hot gases from a jet engine. The plenum chamber 1 includes a manifold flange 2 and an inlet manifold 3 projecting from the flange 2 in a substantially horizontal plane. The manifold 3 includes a by-pass outlet 4 and a jet engine inlet 5. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional jet engine 6 having an exhaust end 7 and an intake end 8 mounted on the manifold 3 in a substantially horizontal position with its exhaust end 7 connected to the manifold inlet 5. The foregoing structure is conventional, as shown in my Patent No. 3,172,257.

The invention is in this application involves a novel mounting for supporting the jet engine 6 while allowing the jet engine 6 to vary its dimensional length due to thermal expansion or contraction under operating conditions without the creation of undue stresses in either the jet engine or the mounting for the jet engine. The mounting 9 includes a box-like frame having a seat 10 arranged at its inner end fixed to the top of the valve manifold 3. The seat 10 can be fixed to the manifold 3 by welding or other rigid mounting means. The frame 9 further includes a pair of horizontally spaced and horizontally extending bars 11 projecting outwardly from the seat 10 and overlaying the jet engine 6. The bars 11 are interconnected at their outer ends and intermediate their ends by a pair of cross braces 12 for adding strength and stability to the frame 9.

A pair of substantially depending parallel arms 14 are fixed to the outer ends of the bars 11 and extend downwardly and outwardly at an angle to the vertical to straddle the jet engine 6 intermediate its ends. The lower ends of the arms 14 are fixed to the jet engine 6 by a trunnion means 15 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, which allows the arms 14 to pivot on the jet engine 6 through a limited angle. The trunnion means 15 allows the jet engine to move relative to the arms 14 a limited amount without applying bending stresses to the jet engine body.

The trunnion means 15 is best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 and includes a radially projecting pin 16 fixed to the jet engine 6 and an annular bushing 17 slidably mounted on the pin 16. The bushing 17 includes a circumstance 18 which is arcuate in the axial direction and is encircled by a two-piece socket 19 formed on the end of each depending arm 14 and having an interior surface corresponding to the circumference 18 of the bushing 17. The slidable mounting of the bushing 17 on the pin 16 allows the trunnion means 15 to move radially relative to the jet engine 6 while the axially arcuate circumference 18 of the bushing 17 allows the socket 19 to tilt or cant on the bushing 17. Both types of relative movement may take place in the trunnion means 15 as the torque of the operating jet engine 6 attempts to turn it about its axis with the trunnion means 15 and associated mounting resisting such turning.

The exhaust end 7 of the jet engine 6 is free to move longitudinally between the trunnion means 15 and the manifold inlet 5 by the provision of a sliding or telescoping joint between the exhaust end 7 and inlet 5. This joint is hown in FIG. 5 and includes an enlarged bell flange 21 on the manifold inlet 5 slidably and snugly receiving the end portion 22 of the exhaust end 7. A gap 23 normally exists between the outer edge of the end portion 22 and the inner shoulder of the bell flange 21 to allow the end portion 22 to slide axially in the bell flange 21 during expansion of the exhaust end 7 of the jet engine 6.

A horizontal extension 25 is centrally mounted on top of the frame 9 and is fixed to both of the cross braces 12 of the frame 9. The extension 25 has an outer portion 26 projecting in a cantilever fashion beyond the outer end of the frame and overlaying the outer portion of the jet engine 6. The outer end of the extension projection 26 includes a W-shaped bracket 27 which is interconnected to the jet engine 6 by a pair of relatively yieldable or flexible rods 28 which act more or less as extension cables for suspending the weight of the outer portion of the jet engine 6 from the end of the extension 25. The rods 28 are fixed by threaded joints at both ends through the bracket 27 (as shown in FIG. 4) and the jet engine 6 which allows further flexible movement of the rods 28 relative to both the jet engine 6 and the outer portion 26. The rods 28 are of sufficient length so that they can flex sufliciently during thermal changes in length of the jet engine without the imposition of undue stresses or strains on the body of the jet engine 6 or on the extension 25.

Although only one embodiment of the invention is specifically described, it will be noted that the invention may embrace various other embodiments which are obvious from an understanding of the described embodiment and are embraced within the claims of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A jet engine mounting comprising:

a manifold having an inlet;

a jet engine having an intake end and an exhaust end,

said jet engine being located substantially in a horizontal position with its exhaust end connected to said inlet of said manifold;

a horizontal frame having one end fixed to said manifold and having a pair of horizontally spaced, sub- 85 stantially vertical arms at it other end, the free ends of said arms straddling said jet engine into intermediate its ends and being interconnected to said jet engine;

a horizontal extension fixed to said frame and projecting beyond said other end; and

yieldable means interconnecting the outer end of said extension to said jet engine intermediate its intake end and the free ends of said arms whereby said jet engine is relatively free to change its length due to thermal changes while being supported by said frame and said extension.

2. The jet engine mounting of claim 1 wherein:

said frame is located above said jet engine with said arms depending from its other end.

3. The jet engine mounting of claim 2 wherein:

said arms are pivoted to said jet engine.

4. The jet engine mounting of claim 3 wherein:

said yieldable means includes a relatively flexible elongated rod suspending the weight of a part of said jet engine from the outer end of said extension in a manner to allow limited movement of said jet engine relative to said extension.

5. The jet engine of claim 1 wherein:

the exhaust end of said jet engine is slidably mounted in the inlet of said manifold allowing relative axial movement between said exhaust end and said manifold inlet during operation of said engine.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,968,920 1/1961 Wayne et al 60-39.32 X 3,172,257 3/1965 Hornsc'huch 6039.32 X 3,188,808 6/1965 Crooks 60-3932 X CARLTON R. CROYLE, Primary Examiner. 

1. A JET ENGINE MOUNTING COMPRISING: A MANIFOLD HAVING AN INLET; A JET ENGINE HAVING AN INTAKE END AND AN EXHAUST END, SAID JET ENGINE BEING LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION WITH ITS EXHAUST END CONNECTED TO SAID INLET OF SAID MANIFOLD; A HORIZONTAL FRAME HAVING ONE END FIXED TO SAID MANIFOLD AND HAVING A PAIR OF HORIZONTALLY SPACED, SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL ARMS AT ITS OTHER END, THE FREE ENDS OF SAID ARMS STRADDLING SAID JET ENGINE INTO INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS AND BEING INTERCONNECTED TO SAID JET ENGINE; A HORIZONTAL EXTENSION FIXED TO SAID FRAME AND PROJECTING BEYOND SAID OTHER END; AND YIELDABLE MEANS INTERCONNECTING THE OUTER END OF SAID EXTENSION TO SAID JET ENGINE INTERMEDIATE ITS INTAKE END AND THE FREE ENDS OF SAID ARMS WHEREBY SAID JET 